Devera to deliver

To say that Joe Devera did not 'deliver' last season would, in all honesty, be an understatement, right?

One of those that was meant to 'rip up' league two last season he started it like a pub player, God only knows how he managed to get such a good reputation as a quality league one player is what we thought, putting it mildly...

Some do find it difficult to drop down to league two, this is different still to league one and the championship, but the more I think about it the more I do not think that was the issue.

Devera looked poor in central defence early on, he was not done any favours being asked to fill in at left or right back either - clearly his 'best position' was as a central defender...

You know what though, putting aside some 'rumours' of what could be his issue, someone once pointed out to me last season what they felt the main problem with him was, do you know what that was?

Well, I will tell you!

A lot of his problem in my friends eyes were the defenders around them, and the fact that he worried far too much about what they were doing - or not doing as they should be as they case was! - that he was losing all sense of positioning and losing focus too much on his own game.

If you study a game, and study a player, you can sometimes see thing that others are not and they could have a point with Devera you know.

Primarily it was thought that Sonny Bradley was his main concern...

As much as I think Bradley will go on to become a decent defender, thought is that he was getting too carried away - maybe not quite having the right attitude - and perhaps not remaining focused enough and making basic mistakes that had Devera far too worried about and how he could correct them than he was his own!

I think we did see that Devera improved, some might say not by much, but I think he did and this did seem to coincide with an improved defence and a better understanding among it and belief we could defend, which we did continue to struggle with for most of the season mind.

Part of me would not be surprised if we did still see Devera depart perhaps, but given his experience I have this feeling that Andy Awford - also of course a former defender himself, so he has a greater grasp and understanding in this field - could see him as a key component to our central defence this season?

Jack Whatmough seems a much more cultured and calm defender than Bradley was, at a younger age too, with the teenager willing to 'take control' at the back.

So, this will take the added pressure off Devera with the pair performing a good partnership?

Then again I could be completely wrong, and over analysing things far too much and it might just well be that Devera is just plain and simply crap!

Cookie Policy
At Vital Football, we along with most other modern websites use small files called 'cookies' to create the most secure, effective and functional website possible for our users. Without these files our business model, based on advertising, breaks down and we would be unable to continue to provide the services that you are here to utilise. By continuing to use this website after seeing this message, you consent to our use of cookies on this device unless you have disabled them. For full details please read our Cookie Policy which can be found here. However, if you would like to disable cookies on this device, please view our Cookie Policy which contains an opt-out tool for disabling advertising cookies. Please also visit our information pages on 'How to manage cookies' if you would also like to block all other types of cookies. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies.